Childhood Friend of the Zenith - Chapter 129

༺ Lord of the West (2) ༻

He was one of the Heavenly Venerables who presided over all martial artists around the world.

Dishonored Venerable Bijuu, the Lord of the west.

He was known as the Dishonored Venerable for a reason.

He was, like his title, a person who had faced defeat hundreds of times.

Many said that the Dishonored Venerable was fortunate, and the man himself admitted as much.

Because, despite all of his defeats, his arms and legs were still fully functional.

Because of his achievements, he was given the title “Man of Might.”

Instead, the Dishonored Venerable preferred the moniker “Man of Defeat”, the dishonored one.

Since he was standing here after all his defeats.

He wanted to be called that so he wouldn’t forget how he got there.

So in the end, his title was changed to the Dishonored Venerable, but that still didn’t change the fact that he was still strong enough to be included in the three Heavenly Venerables.

Aside from the Sword Emperor, he was one of the most powerful individuals who massacred Unorthodox Faction clans.

And there was a famous story about him erasing an entire mountain from the world when he fought the Lord of Heaven.

‘...So then why?’

I was taken aback not only because the letter was written by the Dishonored Venerable himself, but also because the man, like the Sword Emperor, had been hidden from the world for a few years.

He most likely would not have appeared in my past life if it had not been for the Heavenly Demon’s appearance in the world.

So how did the Second Elder obtain the letter from such a person?

“Second Elder, may I ask where you got that?”

“What do you mean where, I got it directly from him.”

“From... the Dishonored Venerable?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t help but be shocked.

I did not know why the Sword Emperor was hiding from the world, but I knew why the Dishonored Venerable was.

He had to hide himself, and I was certain he severed all ties with others.

“How did you two even come to know each other?”

“Is it that unusual for martial artists to know each other?”

It was not all that strange because the Second Elder was active when he was the Flaming Fist.

“But... even so, the Dishonored Venerable is...”

I stopped speaking. It would look strange that I even knew about this.

I changed the subject after a brief pause.

“How exactly do you want me to use this?”

“What do you mean ‘how do you use it’? The recommendation letter is there for you to show it.”

Does he really expect some unknown child of the Gu Clan like me to all of a sudden go to the Tournament of Dragons and Phoenixes and show the letter written by the Dishonored Venerable out of nowhere?

Oh... my god.

“What are you hesitating for? I gave it to you happily since you seemed like you were ready to cause some trouble.”

“Yeah... I guess you did give me something that would help me with just that.”

It would indeed attract many people’s attention. Though I did need to think about how I would use this attention.

“Thank you.”

Anyway, I felt thankful in the end, as he had given it to me for me. I put the recommendation letter in my pocket for now.

I then started to think while patting Wi Seol-ah’s head, who was standing next to me.

The best way I could use this...

* * * *

Just around the time the sun had come up, Namgung Bi-ah’s eyes opened.

She then began to move slowly.

“Oof...”

It was still early in the morning. It was far too early for Namgung Bi-ah, who enjoyed sleeping, but she forced herself awake.

She knew she could not fall back asleep even if she tried.

She then turned to face the window.

A white flower, the one she had picked previously, was basking in the sunlight outside.

She picked it and transplanted it, but the flower was still going strong, so it must have been a strong specimen.

She also began to make her bed and arrange her pillows.

Normally, something like this would have been the servants’ responsibility.

But Namgung Bi-ah insisted on doing it herself. The pillow she slept with while hugging and sniffing it was a problem.

‘...It does not smell as strongly anymore.’

Namgung Bi-ah was sleeping on the pillow she had taken from Gu Yangcheon’s room.

They were correct when they said that having a luxury taken away was more difficult than not having any at all, because as soon as she got further away from Gu Yangcheon, the horrendous stench she smelled brought her life to a halt.

She already was regretting her choice.

For what reason did she decide to distance herself from him?

‘...How embarrassing.’

And after learning about the new knowledge that Tang Soyeol taught her, Namgung Bi-ah, for some reason, felt embarrassed to even look at Gu Yangcheon’s face.

This included his breathing whenever it would get closer, his stare, his fingers, and his lips...

All of that made her embarrassed.

Namgung Bi-ah found that she was acting ridiculous.

She believed she would have a child because she slept with him while holding his hands.

And the fact that she thought having a child might not be so bad.

In order to escape the stench, she trained her sword to higher levels.

But she quickly changed her mind when she discovered a different escape route.

Namgung Bi-ah was embarrassed as a result.

She thought about her father, who was kneeling on the ground in the middle of the night.

That careless father she hated was still the same as ever.

Her mother, who passed away from a disease due to his negligence, never once resented her father even in her last moments.

How could she be like that?

He may have been using fire, but for Namgung Bi-ah, it was a softening warmth.

When she arrived in front of his place, someone quickly walked toward Namgung Bi-ah.

“Hello, Lady Namgung!”

She wondered if it was Wi Seol-Ah, but it was a different woman that wore the same servant uniform.

“Who is it?”

“Thank you for last time...!”

“Oh...”

She remembered.

It was the servant who had looked like she was about to cry when Namgung Bi-ah snuck some pillows out that last time.

Namgung Bi-ah paid the servant twice the original amount because she felt sorry for her.

The Namgung girl remembered her saying that she would never tell anyone, even though she never asked her to do such a thing.

“...Hello.”

Namgung Bi-ah slightly lowered her head and tried her best to greet her.

The servant woman was shocked at the gesture.

Was it really that surprising for a descendant of the Namgung Clan to greet someone? Namgung Bi-ah thought

“Are you here to see the Young Master?”

Namgung Bi-ah nodded.

“Oh, the Young Master is likely training right now; he always trains around this time.”

The servant told Namgung Bi-ah his location happily, but the girl already knew where he was in the first place.

After leaving the servant, she slowly moved.

One step, then the second.

And when she had taken her third step, all the stench around her instantly disappeared.

‘It’s... much vaster than before.’

When she met him for the first time, she was able to smell the stench if she got even a little away from him, but now, she felt fine even if he was somewhat far away.

What was it that made it that way?

Was it because he was getting stronger?

If that was the case, there was hope for Namgung Bi-ah.

If she reached higher levels, maybe the stench would disappear?

After finally escaping the stench and enjoying the scent, Namgung Bi-ah went toward the place he was at.

The heat was getting stronger as she got closer to him.

Has he gotten stronger than before?

She had been walking while thinking, but she suddenly halted her steps.

It was because the heat that surrounded the training area had disappeared.

Then the door opened, and a sweat-covered Gu Yangcheon appeared.

As if he knew that Namgung Bi-ah would be on the other side of the door, he didn’t seem to be surprised she was there.

“Huh, what made you come so early in the mor-... Why do you look like that?”

Gu Yangcheon asked with a shocked expression.

He was always like this.

Even if other people did not pick up on it, he always seemed to notice the minute shifts in expressions.

Namgung Bi-ah believed that his concern was distinct from those of others.

“Did you not get enough sleep?”

She gave a slight nod in response to his question.

‘Why are you here? Stop bothering me.’

The boy who used to push her away with those words was no longer there.

“Then you should sleep more; what brought you here so early?”

He still did not seem completely honest with herself, but Namgung Bi-ah was fine with that.

Because the way her father looked at her mother and the way this boy looked at her were completely different.

She knew that better than anyone, so she unknowingly smiled.

“...See you.”

“Hmm...?”

“...I wanted to... see you....”

She gave him her complete honesty without any lies.

She just wanted to see him.

‘...’

After hearing that, Gu Yangcheon chose to remain silent, as if he had become stone.

It was similar to Namgung Jin’s earlier display of silence, but Namgung Bi-ah felt that his silence didn’t tell her the full story.

After a short silence, Gu Yanghceon spoke.

“...Eat.”

“Hmm...?”

“Have you eaten yet?”

“No.”

“Then let’s go eat.”

After saying that, he walked past Namgung Bi-ah.

The girl then had a fit of uncontrollable but quiet laughter.

“Why are you laughing?”

Gu Yangcheon complained to her, but Namgung Bi-ah continued to giggle, as if to tell him it was nothing.

“...Lame.”

He didn’t get any answers from her, but he still felt like he knew

Unlike Gu Yangcheon’s bothered face, his ears were reddened up.

Namgung Bi-ah saw him starting to walk a few steps by himself, but then saw his back waiting for her to catch up as he slowed down.

That was enough.

That much was enough for now.

Having felt that all her frustrations seemed to have been washed away, Namgung Bi-ah followed Gu Yangcheon.